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work and writings in urbanism by Alan A Loomis

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Category Archives: New Urbanism

The Dilemma of Density

October 12, 2006by Alan Loomis 2 Comments

Housing and Community in Southern California as seen from Pasadena | Presented at “Surfacing Urbanisms,” the 2006 ACSA West Conference, hosted by Woodbury University

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Los Angeles, New Urbanism, Pasadena, Places, Policy, Writings

Town Centers

June 10, 2005by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

Commentary published in “Los Angeles: Building the Polycentric City” for the 13th Congress of New Urbanism, June 2005

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Los Angeles, New Urbanism, Writings

Neighborhoods of Los Angeles

June 10, 2005by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

Commentary published in “Los Angeles: Building the Polycentric City” for the 13th Congress of New Urbanism, June 2005

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Los Angeles, New Urbanism, Writings

Victoria Gardens

June 10, 2005by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

Commentary published in “Los Angeles: Building the Polycentric City” for the 13th Congress of New Urbanism, June 2005

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Architectural Shorts, Architecture, Los Angeles, New Urbanism, Places, Shopping, Writings

Urban Utopias

June 15, 2000by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

Fifty Years of New Town Ideology: A comparative analysis of three New Towns outside of Washington DC: Greenbelt, Reston, and Kentlands

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History, New Urbanism, Places, Writings

Urban Conversations

April 1, 2000by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

A review of the “Urbanisms: New and Other” conference, held at the College of Environmental Design, University of California Berkeley, 24-26 February 2000

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New Urbanism, Writings

Urban Debates

November 22, 1999by Alan Loomis Leave a comment

A review of the “Exploring (New) Urbanism” conference, held at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, 4-6 March 1999

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New Urbanism, Writings

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1/3 Charles Moore’s contribution to the UC Irvine campus, the domestically scaled Extension Education Center, is inspired by the three chapels of San Gregorio in Rome. In fact, as Moore himself admits in the essay “The Qualities of Quality,” the triparte elevation design featuring a scalloped baroque centerpiece flanked by paired arched facades, is a near literal copy of the 17th Century Roman precedent. (As seen in the etching by Giuseppe Vasi). Approached via a set of scalloped steps and sitework, more elaborate than in Rome, the building likely felt more monumental when first built than today now that it is surrounded by the multi-story boxes of the Business School, Law Library and nearby Social Sciences Parking Structure. 2/3 Behind the ochre-colored baroque facades of Moore’s UC Irvine Education Center, are simple gable-roofed buildings containing offices and classrooms. Here the unity of the main facade(s) dissolves into a collection of loosely arranged structures around a loosely defined central courtyard flanked by shed-roof post-and-beam arcades. From this perspective, where the baroque facades read as clear false fronts, the architectural inspiration seems more cowboy western than Roman. As is often the case with Moore’s more experimental work, the quality of the architectural finishes and details is also a little cowboy western. 3/3 The baroque centerpiece of Moore’s UC Irvine Education Center is flanked by a pair of rambling buildings that create a piazza of sorts, delineating a promenade and pathway leading to/from the larger campus. Indeed, one of the structures bridges over the pathway with a low-slung postmodern archway, marking a gateway to this strange quasi-Roman fragment within the UCI campus. Like many of the forgotten corners of Rome, the legibility of this odd little California piazza is now obscured by overgrown landscaping and sycamore trees. One suspects Moore would be pleased. The typology and culture of Parisian cafes is most wonderful.

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